Don’t mess with this young goalie, who appears to have the true soul of a Bruin. He’s been ready a long time for this second debut, and the time has finally come.

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“Rask is likely to develop his movement to the level of the very best in the world. Right now the butterfly goalie moves with an explosive, controlled horizontal slide while maintaining good coverage. He gets back to his feet instantly when needed. With these qualities, when on his game, he has always been able to save his team from no matter how dominant opponents.”

Born: Savonlinna, Finland

Left hometown for the SM-Liiga organization of Ilves at the age of 16.

There he continued to dominate in his age group. He won the 2004 Viking Cup along with the award for the best goaltender. The 2004 U18 WC was a great personal success for Rask…

2004-05: Won the championship in Finnish Jr. after a beyond-perfect performance — 9 wins in 10 games with a GAA of 0.87 and saves at .973.

2005-06: Rask returned from the WJCs and he excelled in a couple of games. Soon it became apparent that he wasn’t just riding a hot streak. He was given one start after another, eventually taking over the starter’s position.

2006-07: Rask had more than enough work to deal with. He played 49 games and faced the second most shots in the league, taking care of WJC duties on the side. Rask performed commendably, saving Ilves on many occasions by winning close games when the team couldn’t score. His GAA of 2.39 and the save percentage .928 were among the league’s finest. Rask stretched a gap to the team’s second best player perhaps wider than in any other SM-liiga organization.

An all-star of the 2006 WJC, Rask had high expectations placed on him after his continued development back home over the year. His task was basically to support the team with a star performance when it was winning, and to win the game even when the rest of the players weren’t up to it.

2007-08: Rask played his rookie pro season in North America with the Providence Bruins (AHL). He earned a spot on the AHL PlanetUSA All-Star team. He was also recalled to Boston early in the season.